Pirates sink low, steal cannons from St. Augustine shipwreck

By Dan ScanlanTimes-Union staff writer,

Modern-day pirates have stolen two 18th century cannons from their watery grave at a British shipwreck found last summer near the St. Augustine Lighthouse.

The heist of the 2,000-pound cannons occurred between April and mid-July during a lull in the two-year research project on the remains of the sloop Industry, the first colonial shipwreck ever found off the nation's oldest city.

The Industry ran aground May 5, 1764, while carrying needed cannons, ammunition, money and tools to the new British outpost in St. Augustine.

Divers from Southern Oceans Archaeological Research Inc. had already salvaged one 7-foot-long cannon from the eight found at 20-foot-deep site in June 1998 and were preparing to recover two more when archaeologist John W. Morris III discovered the theft July 15.

The waters directly offshore of St. Augustine are a protected, state-designated archaeological preserve. Morris said the theft probably occurred at night, and the rest of the site was damaged by a huge underwater fan used to blast sand off the fragile wreck. A hammer also was used to hack at the remaining cannons, cracking a piece off one of them.

''They used a prop wash deflector and blew a big crater in the sand. Whoever did this knew what they were doing,'' Morris said. ''They severely damaged the rest of the cannons, and I am worried they might go back and blow the holes in the others.''

The theft, a violation of Florida's Historic Preservation Act, may be the first on an active underwater archaeological site in Florida. The state Department of Environmental Protection and Florida Marine Patrol are investigating.

The loss is a tremendous blow to the investigation of St. Augustine's maritime history, said Jim Miller, chief of archaeological research for the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research in Tallahassee.

''It gives you sense of outrage that someone would rip this off and prevent anyone else from having the experience,'' Miller said. ''These two cannons were to be raised and exhibited. Unless they are recovered, they are now unavailable to the public. They are in danger of deteriorating if not conserved, and become a missing piece of the archaeological record of the shipwreck site. We want them back.''

Archaeologists began the state's first underwater wreck survey off St. Augustine in 1995 and targeted 55 sites. Dives two years later uncovered a well-preserved steamship wreck sunk circa 1850 to 1870 and the remains of the British sloop Industry.

The precise location of the Industry was never released publicly, but Morris said anyone with the right equipment could have found the wreck site. As for the cannons, he said they were probably stolen by a private collector and are probably gracing someone's back yard or living room.

Morris doesn't know what the iron weapons might be worth.

But even worse, the 3-foot-deep-by-15-foot-wide crater that was blasted in the sand washed away other artifacts, then the thieves damaged the other cannons.

''The other five were beaten on to see if they were bronze. They took a sledgehammer and whacked on them,'' Morris said.

Kathy Fleming, executive director of the Lighthouse Museum, said the theft was ''ignorance run amok.'' The museum at 81 Lighthouse Ave. is funding much of Southern Oceans' research into the Industry and had already filed for an $800,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant to establish a shipwreck laboratory there when she learned of the theft. Morris said they should learn whether they won the grant by November.

''It was just an awful thing because we had planned on bringing those two up and we were going to offer one to Fort Matanzas, because that was its original destination,'' she said. ''The frustration I feel is based on the fact that had we had the center in place, we would have gotten them last year and no one would have touched them.''

The theft is third-degree felony, but Miller said the courts would have to determine punishment, which could include confiscation of the boat used in the theft. The Florida Marine Patrol is now checking the wreck site, Morris said.

Miller said the best way to find the thieves is to hope someone reports suspicious activity over the wreck site to the marine patrol.

''We hope that someone will say, 'I saw a cannon or saw someone with a deflector on their boat,' '' Miller said. ''It is a prominent example of how endangered these resources are and what can happen to them.''

The Southern Oceans team also plans to recover a 3-foot-long swivel gun from the Industry next week, set up a state-protected underwater park at the 19th Century steamship wreck site and search for the Jefferson Davis, a converted slave ship sunk off Northeast Florida during the Civil War.